World News - Navy, Environmental Groups Settle Sonar Lawsuit, Limiting When and Where Signals Can Be Used

The Navy can use high-intensity sonar in some circumstances for Pacific warfare exercises under an agreement reached Friday with environmental groups, four days after a judge banned the sonar over concerns it could harm marine mammals. The settlement prevents the Navy from using the sonar within 25 miles of the newly established Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument during its Rim of the Pacific 2006 exercises, and also imposes a variety of methods to watch for and report the presence of marine mammals. The environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, had obtained a court order Monday temporarily barring the use of the "mid-frequency active sonar." ... http://abcnews.go.com

The man who led America's hunt for Osama bin Laden has said the CIA was wrong to disband the only unit devoted entirely to the terrorist leader's pursuit - just at a time when al-Qaida is reasserting its influence over global jihad.Shutting down the Bin Laden unit squandered 10 years of expertise in the war on terror, said Michael Scheuer, who founded the unit in 1995 and arguably knows more about Bin Laden than any other western intelligence official. He believes the unit was dismantled because of bureaucratic jealousies within the CIA, and that the closure delivers a further setback to a pursuit that has been squeezed for resources for the past two years. "What it robs you of is a critical mass of officers who have been working on this together for a decade," he told the Guardian. "We had a breed of specialists rare in an intelligence community that prides itself on generalists. ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1815728,00.html?gusrc=rss

Authorities have dramatically curtailed the number of stations broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America news programs, officials said Friday, sending an unsettling signal about the state of press freedoms in Russia. News of the restrictions comes amid growing criticism about the state of democracy under President Vladimir Putin and a week before Russia hosts a summit of leaders from the world's wealthiest democracies. Some European and U.S. lawmakers have called for Putin's government to be taken to task for closing down media outlets and squeezing opposition groups. Russian officials say the matter is simply one of stations' conforming with their broadcast licenses. But radio station owners said the restrictions close down an essential source of information, particularly in far-flung regions where media outlets are fewer than in Moscow and St. Petersburg. ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5936874,00.html

A top Israeli official hinted for the first time that Israel was prepared to swap Palestinian prisoners for a captured soldier, saying Friday that the prisoners could be released as a goodwill gesture after the 19-year-old corporal was freed.It was not immediately clear whether Public Security Minister Avi Dichter was speaking for the government or expressing a personal opinion.If militants release Gilad Shalit and stop rocket attacks from Gaza, “Israel will need to, after some time, release prisoners as a reciprocal gesture,” Dichter said in a speech to Israeli business people. “Israel knows how to do this. Israel has done this more than once in the past.” Dichter also said Shalit is alive.Hamas signaled it was prepared to strike a deal.“We are ready to reach a consensus on an acceptable joint formula ... to end this case,” the group said in an e-mail to journalists. “The release of prisoners must be the main component.”...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13707036/

Pakistan's president on Friday amended an Islamic law to allow hundreds of women facing charges for adultery and other minor crimes to be freed on bail. The much-anticipated amendment by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf would affect 1,300 female prisoners currently awaiting trial, the minister for women's affairs, Sumaira Malik, said. "President Musharraf has taken a bold decision to protect the rights of women and save them from the misuse of Islamic laws," said Malik, who announced that Musharraf signed the amendment but did not distribute copies of the document. The president, a moderate, has sought to reform Islamic laws on blasphemy and women's rights in the past but backed off because of strong opposition in deeply conservative Pakistan. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2165339

Bush denied reports Friday that the CIA had disbanded a special unit hunting Osama bin Laden. "It's just an incorrect story. We have a lot of assets looking for Osama bin Laden," Mr. Bush said. Mr. Bush vowed to keep hunting for the al Qaeda terror leader, a search that has been fruitless in the nearly five years since the Sept. 11 attacks. "No ands, ifs or buts. My judgment is it's just a matter of time," he said. "We're not going to stop looking so long as I'm the president; not only for Osama bin Laden, but anybody else who plots and plans attacks against the United States of America. We're going to stay on the offense so long as I'm your president." Yep, if and when we find this Boogieman we will have a replacement one waiting in the wings to scare the Panties off everyone who believes the Bull Shit about this phony war on terror...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/07/politics/main1783586.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1783586